Magnetic racing amusement device



April 29, 1952 D. c. PARKE ETAL 2,594,678

MAGNETIC RACING AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed April 12, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY April 29, 1952 D. C. PARKE ET AL MAGNETIC RACING AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed April 12, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTOR/VE Y Ap 1952 D. c. PARKE ET AL 2,594,678 MAGNETIC RACING AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed April 12, 1948 s SheetS -Sheet s IN V EN TORS Patented Apr. 29, 1952 Denver, 0010.

Application April 12, 194s, ser ialNol 2ml7li 54 Claims. 1

"This invention relates to e. fgame 'or amusemerit-device in which my racing Vehicles competewith each other "on a inodel race track.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, and highly efiicient device bymean's of which toy racing automobiles can *be propelled around the track Without any -'attachments being'n'iade to the automobiles themselves.

iihot'her obj'ec'tof the invention "is to provide a powei' dr'iveh 'mechanism for operatin'g the racers which will induce an element of chance, so that it; ill be impossible to determine in advance which ritcer "will win any "race. Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicit'y, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following descrfiption.

the renewing detailed description of the invention, reference is has to the accompanying dijdwilfg Vilhlbh forms 'a part hereof. Like nuc ll'lefals iefer like parts in all 'views of the drawings *and throughout the description.

:In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a "plan'view ofthe improved race track; Fig. 2 is a top View of the device, with the top gaclg plate removed, as taken on the line 2'2,

:Fig. 3 is enlarged, longitudinal section, token on the line 3 3, Fig. *1;

'4 is a iragmentary eniargedhorizontal-sec tio'n, *t'ak'h on the line i -'4, Fi' ;.l. illustrating a carriage men'lbe'r employed on the improved amusement device;

5 "'aside view of the carriage'member of Pie. 4;

ig. 6 is a similarly en arged, detail section, taken on the line 6e 6, 3, -i l-lus ti la.t'lh'g a permanent: magnet structure employed the improved amusement -devie'e;

-Fi"g"s. -8 9 are hbriziiiit'al seamen views. taken oii the lines 8--8 and 9:9, respectively, Fig. 3.

The entire mechanism is preferably mounted in an ornamental oval cabinet I 0 which is covered by inean's'of ia clish shaped "race track plate H of n'onemagn'etic .material such as aluminum, pressed fiber, 'etc. havihg upstanding ridges [2 which divide the track into a plurality of run- 2 ways'an'd provided "with a em-t and finish line 58. 'In the embodiment showmthe're ere fou'r 'runways, "designated by the letters -A, B, 6, and D.

A Wheeled vehicle, "such "as a toy racing car I3, is positioned in each runway. Motion :is imparted to the cars 13 magnetically, that is, each car carries a *lolock of magnetic material such as Alhi'co M. The "blocks 14 are magnetically "attracted by permanent magnets 15, preferably of the horseshoe type, positioned below the track .plate 1'1, there "being one magnet for each of the cars 13. The magnets 15 are moved along the 'oente-r line-of e'a'ch runway and the =car's follow therealohg.

Each magnet 15 is mounted "on the u'rip'er extremity of a magnet post 16 "extending upwardly from a carriage .plate H. The carriage plates 11 "are positioned below guide tra'cks l8 and are supported thereon bzwmeans of alpair of vertical rollers 19. Each carriage plate *celiifies a. pair of horizontal rollers 20 which ride egainst-theouter periphery of the track 18. I

The tracks it are supported below the track plate H upon suit'alole brackets 21 and are arranged at -si1e'cessively higher elevations as -the center "is approached. Each track 1 8 is contoured to follow the contour of one of the runways-A, C, or D.

Each carriage :pl'ate M is pivotal-1y mounte oh a ipivot pm 22 en the outer "-extremity of ia telescoping arm 23. Each of the telescoping arms .23 is slida-bly mounted in a guide sleeve 24 which guide "sleeves are mounted in-supportin g blocks 25 rotatably mounted at the ax-is of the device.

:Eabh of the arms 2 -3 is constantly pulled into its guide sleeve 24 by means of a tension sprin 26. The springs act to maintain the rollers 20 in contact "with the tracks is so that the magi 1 5 will travel :a .,:path cor-responding to the path "of the ;-runways, -A-, B, G andD. The tele- 3 shaft 27. The third block 25, for the runway C, is mounted on a larger tubular shaft 30 which is rotatably mounted on the tubular shaft 29. The fourth block 25, for the runway D, is mounted on a still larger tubular shaft 3| which rotates about the tubular shaft 30.

A drive disc 32 is fixed upon the lower extremity of the center shaft 21 and on the lower extremity of each of the tubular shafts 29, 30 and 3|. Each of the drive discs 32 rests upon and frictionally engages an individual ratchet gear 33. Each of the ratchet gears 33 is formed on a constantly driven gear 34. The driven gears 34 are unattached at their axes so that they may rotate freely. They are individually rotated from four drive gears 35 which are fixed upon avertical counter-shaft 36, which is rotatably mounted in the gear frame 28. The counter-shaft 35 may be constantly rotated from any suitable source of power. As illustrated, it is driven from an electric motor 31 through the medium of suitable worm gearing 38.

The driven gears 34 rotate constantly. The drive discs 32 rotate intermittently. Rotation is imparted to each drive disc 32 through the medium of a ratchet dog 39, there being one ratchet dog mounted intermediate its extremities on a pivot pin 40 on the lower face of each drive disc. Each dog is shaped to provide a hook 4| at its inner extremity which is positioned to engage the teeth of one of the ratchet gears 33. The hook 4| of each dog is constantly urged into engagement with the teeth of its ratchet gear 33 by means of a suitable tension spring 42 so that the drive discs 32 will rotate as a unit with their respective driven gears 34.

A vertical ratchet release shaft 43 is positioned alongside the series of drive discs 32. A plurality of ratchet-engaging arms 44 project radially from four hubs 45, which are freely rotatable about the shaft 43. The arms 44 are positioned below each of the dogs 39 and each of the dogs is provided with a downwardly extending engaging pin 46 which rotates into engagement with the arms 44.

As illustrated, there are four of the arms 44 for each dog. Therefore, each revolution of each of the drive discs 32 will rotate its respective arm hub 45, 90, and four revolutions of each disc will impart one complete revolution to its arm hub 45. One of the arms projecting from each hub 45, which will be designated arm 44', is longer thanthe remaining three arms. These longer arms 44' swing into contact with a vertical stop bar 41 positioned alongside the shaft 43. The stop bar 41 is slidably mounted in a guide frame 48 and is normally positioned so that it will be contacted by the longer arms 44', but it can be withdrawn from this position to release these longer arms by means of a pull rod 49 and a U-shaped yoke 50. The stop bar 41 is mounted on the forward extremities of the yoke 50 and a handle is mounted on the outer extremity of the rod 49 on the exterior of the housing I0. Compression springs 52 constantly urge the stop bar 41 to its normal arm engaging position.

The results of the races are made uncertain by means of chance cams 53, there being one of the chance cams mounted below each of the drive discs 32. The chance cams 53 are secured on a vertical chance shaft 54 immediately below each of the drive discs. The chance shaft 54 is constantly driven at reduced speed from a compound gear 55 which is rotatably mounted on the outer tubular shaft 3| and driven from a drive gear 56 on the counter-shaft 36. The compound gear 55 drives a driven gear 51 secured on the shaft 54. Thus, the shaft 54 rotates constantly at a slower speed, and in the opposite direction to the drive discs 32. Each chance cam 53 comprises two fiat, cam-shaped arms which extend into the path of the outer extremity of one of the dogs 39 as the latter rotates about the axis of the shaft 21.

The various operating parts are so arranged that when the magnets l5 are aligned so as to position the cars l3 along the start and finish line 58, the longer ratchet-engaging arm 44 of all of the hubs 45 will be in contact with the stop bar 41, and the engaging pins 46 for the hubs 45 will be in contact with the arms 44 and all of the dogs 39 will be held out of engagement with their ratchet gears 33.

Operation Let us assume that it is desired to start a race. The handle 5| is withdrawn to pull the stop bar 41 out of engagement with the four arms 44'. This allows the springs 42 to snap the hooks 4| of the dogs 39 into engagement with the ratchets. All of the drive discs 32 now start to rotate so as to swing the magnets l5 about the runways to attract the cars |3 therealong.

The positions of the chance cams 53 are unknown at the start of the race. These cams rotate slowly, crossing the paths of the dogs. Certain of the dogs will occasionally pass the cams without touching them. The outer extremities of certain of the other dogs 39 will occasionally strike the chance cams 53 at various points along the lengths of the cams. This swings these dogs 39 out of engagement with their respective ratchet gears 33 so that the drive discs 32 no longer rotate with their respective driven gears 34 and the cars l3 operated thereby, slow down to the slower speed of the chance cams 53. The dogs follow these chance cams forwardly, due to friction between the rotating ratchet gears and the discs 32, until the dogs are released from the chance cams when the dogs will again engage the ratchet gears and move therewith. This chance engagement of certain of the dogs on any of the laps cannot be foretold in advance and the result is the winner cannot be picked in advance.

As each car completes one lap, its engaging pin 46 will engage one of the arms 44 and turn the stop hub 45 of that car This continues until the car completes its fourth lap, at which time the longer arm 44 will strike the stop bar 41, preventing further rotation of the arms 44 and causing them to tilt the dog 39 out of engagement with its ratchet so as to allow that car to come to rest. This continues until each car completes its fourth circuit, when the cars will all line up along the finish line 58.

The starting rod 49 may be connected with any suitable coin-actuated device, should it be desired to collect a coin for each race.

While a specific form of th improvement has ways; Ea vehicle positionedi 'in each ,race-way' the path :of travel of each vehicle bing defined? by following *the con-tour of each race-way; -a magne't mount'ed to travel along-each guide track,

there being one magnet positioned below each race-way a vertical-center shaft' 'positionedbelow said plate; I a ;plurali-ty of tubular shafts surrounding said center shaft; an arm extending fromisaid center shaft and supporting onexotsaid magnets; an 'arm "extendingi'from each of said tubulargshafts, "each arm supporting one'off the remaining "magnets, said arms being extensible to allowsai'd magnets to followthe contours of their respective guide tracks; a drive disc secured on each of said shafts; a constantly rotating ratchet Wheel positioned adjacent each drive disc; a ratchet dog carried by each drive disc and positioned to engage the adjacent ratchet wheel; and a pin projecting from each ratchet dog; a vertical ratchet release shaft positioned along side said drive discs; a rotatable hub on said release shaft adjacent each drive disc; a plurality of ratchet-engaging arms projecting radially from each hub into the paths of said pins to be engaged by the latter to intermittently rotate said hubs; a movable vertical stop bar positioned in the path of one of the arms of each hub to be engaged by the latter to stop rotation of saidhubs at the termination of a revolution to cause, the arms on the stopped hubs, when engaged by the pins on said dogs, to release said ratchet dogsnet mounted to travel along each guide track,

there being one magnet positioned below each race-way; a vertical center shaft positioned below said plate; a plurality of tubular shafts surrounding said center shaft; an arm extending from said center shaft and supporting one of said magnets; an arm extending from each of said tubular shafts, each arm supporting one of the remaining magnets, said arms being extensible to allow said magnets to follow the contours of their respective guide tracks; a drive discsecured on each of said shafts; a constantly rotating ratchet wheel positions adjacent each drive disc; a ratchet dog carried by each drive disc and positioned to engage the adjacent ratchet wheel; and a pin projecting from each ratchet dog; a vertical ratchet release shaft positioned alongside said drive discs; a rotatable hub on said release shaft adjacent each drive disc; a p1ura1ity, of ratchet-engaging arms projecting radially from each hub into the paths of said pins to be engage "their torele'asesaid-iiogsifrom'said wheels. i

3. "toy fading game comprising: :a plate; ridges on said-track 'platedividing-the ew face o'f -thela'tt'erinto a plurality of endless raceways; '-a vehicle positioned in each race-way, the path of travel ofeach vehicle being defined by the adjacent ridges; -magnetic material carried by each vehic'le anendless guide track. below and following the contour of eachrace-way; a' mag-- net mounted to travel "along each-guide track, there being one magnet positioned below .each race-way; a vertical center'sh'a'ft positionedblow said plate; a plurality of tubular shafts surrounding said center shaft; an arm extending from said center shaft and supporting one of said disc; a ratchet dog pivoted intermediate its extremities to each drive disc so as to engage the adjacent ratchet wheel at its one extremity to cause said disc to rotate therewith; a rotating chance shaft positioned in parallel relation to said center shaft adjacent said discs; and chance arms projecting from said chance shaft into the path of the other extremities of said ratchet dogs to engage the latter when the positions of the dogs and the arms coincide to cause the first extremities of said dogs to release said ratchet wheels at indeterminate intervals.

4. A toy racing game comprising: a track plate; ridges on said track plate dividing the surface of the latter into a plurality of endless raceways; a vehicle positioned in each race-way, the path of travel of each vehicle being defined by the adjacent ridges; magnetic material carried by each vehicle; an endless guide track below and following the contour of each race-way; a magnet mounted to travel-along each guide track, there being one magnet positioned below each race-way; a vertical center shaft positioned below said plate; a plurality of tubular shafts surrounding said center shaft; an arm extending from said center shaft and supporting one of said magnets; an arm extending from each of said tubular shafts, each arm supporting one of the remaining magnets, said arms being extensible to allow said magnets to follow the contours of their respective guide tracks; a drive disc secured on each of said shafts; a constantly rotating ratchet wheel positioned adjacent each drive disc; a ratchet dog pivoted intermediate its extremities to each drive disc so as to engage the adjacent ratchet wheel at its one extremity to cause said disc to rotate therewith; a rotating chance shaft positioned in parallel relation to said center shaft adjacent said discs; chance arms projecting from said chance shaft into the path of the other extremities of said ratchet dogs to engage the latter when the positions of the dogs and the arms coincide to cause the first extremities of said dogs to release said ratchet wheels at indeterminate intervals; a ratchet release shaft positioned parallel to said center shaft adjacent said discs; a hub rotatably mounted on said ratchet release shaft opposite the path of each ratchet dog; release arms projecting from each hub into the path of said dogs so that the 2,694,678 7 latter will rotate their respective hubs; and Number means for stopping rotation of said hubs so that 820,819 said release arms will remain stationary in the 1,144,613 path of said ratchet dogs to engage and release 2,090,313 the latter from said ratchet wheels. 5 2,121,223 DONALD C. PARKE. 2,141,777 RICHARD E. SEALER. 2,150,303 2,188,619 7 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 0 file of this patent: 2 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 483:073 Number Name Date 650,

461,363 Murdock Oct. 13, 1891 1 656,865

Name Date Noble May 15, 1906 Riordan June 29, 1915 Stafford Aug. 17, 1937 Fuhrmann et al. June'21, 1938 Watling Dec. 27,1938 Walker Mar. 14, 1939 Bernhardt Jan. 30,1940

FOREIGN PATENTS 7 Country Date Great Britain May 15, 1930 Great Britain July 5, 1935 France Sept. 24, 1928 Germany Feb. 21, 1938 

